What to know about Dodgers’ newsworthy front office shuffle

Since president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman typically calls the shots and runs the show in the front office, many Los Angeles Dodgers fans might not have realized the organization hasn’t had a general manager in four years.

The last GM to serve under Friedman was Farhan Zaidi, who’s now the president of baseball operations for the division-rival San Francisco Giants after leaving for that post after the 2018 season.

But that streak has now come to an end after multiple announcements on Tuesday that solidified the organization’s front office for the 2022 season. The Dodgers hired Brandon Gomes, a former player who was hired in 2017 and ascended to assistant general manager by 2019. Friedman actually acquired Gomes back in the day when he was head of the Rays’ front office. Wild stuff.

Though Gomes was the biggest news, the Dodgers had four other promotions to share with their fanbase.

Here’s what you need to know about the Dodgers’ front office hires.

Gomes was a pitcher with the Tampa Bay Rays from 2011-2015 before hanging up his cleats and switching careers. He previously served as the Dodgers’ pitching coordinator and director of player development.

Going down the list, Damon Jones comes from the Washington Football Team (he spent two years there) after 13 years with the Washington Nationals. He was the chief legal counsel for WFT and the senior vice president and general counsel for the Nats.

Alex Slater is another in-house name that got a title change after serving as the director of baseball operations. He’s been with the Dodgers since 2014 and will now be a vice president and the assistant general manager, taking over for Gomes.

The most tenured name of this bunch, however, is Brandon McDaniel, who’s been with LA since 2013 as a member of the strength and conditioning staff, with his most recent position being director of player performance.  He’s now the vice president of player performance.

And finally, Thomas Albert, who’s spent the last five years as the Dodgers’ assistant athletic trainer, will now be the organization’s head athletic trainer, with Neil Rampe no longer holding the position.

It looks like the Dodgers are getting their ducks in a row to prepare for the post-lockout free agency/trade frenzy. As long as they’re aligned, that’s all that matters, because continuity will be most important when battling in these uncharted waters.

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